Too bad NVMe drives still have a price premium over SATA, but at least we're starting to get good performing drives without the ridiculous Samsung markup.
There are still few SSDs besides Samsung with consistent performance under heavy workload, and I don't know why one needs NVMe at all if not for some kind of workload.
The drives in this review that aren't 1TB are either representing controller+NAND combinations that I don't have a 1TB drive for, or are there to show how the same controller+NAND combination as the drive being reviewed scales with capacity.
Would be nice if prices came down so this would be more popular and they would sell more. I mean 1TB m2 SSD under $100 would be nice. I doesn't cost them more than 20 bucks to make one anyway.
Bought this drive off an Ebay store for $230 - on sale + 15% coupon and got it Friday. Installed in an Asrock Z97 mobo with an adapter card - thanks to Asrock for adding the pcie boot option to the bios awhile back. Did a fresh install of Win10 ... didn't want to disk clone and bring forward all the crap. Haven't done much with it yet ... it does boot very fast ! Ran a few benchies. Crystal Diskmark shows a 2,900 read and 1,700 write score for the Q32TI Seq speed ... not bad for an aging system !
They don't want to drop the price more because it will eat into their margin.
That's how the ssd market is. Your lowest is the sata. With nvmd, it is a higher price points (same spec).
Of course they can drop the price, but why would they do that when they can make more per unit knowing that many people who buy nvm often don't have a choice for sata.
Exactly....I mean who wouldn't want to get a lot more performance for the same price as a consumer? If they stopped charging premiums there wouldnt be any money left over for R&D for what comes after nvm. Also, if you can afford these large SSD's I really don;t wanna hear whining about the price....talk about a first world problem.
Even with 512 Gbit TLC chips (best price per capacity, slowest) the NAND alone will currently cost 9$/chip, i.e. 144$. And you need a bit more than that to build a SSD.
"the flip side is that its pricing is noticeably lower than the flagships from more established SSD brands like Samsung and Western Digital." Unfortunately not true in Germany. :( Doesn't seem to be fully released here, 3 retailers offer it, but those 3 are large ones.
Who here remembers two decades ago history when DRAM prices dropped 5-6 times in a matter of few months and no one got bankrupt?
Yes, the electronic industry is screwing people for decades. In the brain of salespeople the 10nm Apple A11 4.3 billion transistor chip can cost $25 but similar transistor count some Intel Xeon processor made even by ancient 20-30nm tech by their crazy logic can not cost less then $1000-2000
SanX, All these companies from 20 years ago are not in the game because there are not enough profits to go around....and there were many more from this time period that went out of business. Samsung NEC Hitachi Hyundai Toshiba LG Semicon TI Micron Mitsubishi Fujitsu
Rotfl rotflnao Swag and Totally. You made my day...how poor anandtech readers degraded so miserably.... Oh, yea, sure, Intel is that dumb company which makes potato chips. It also as a complimentary business makes retarded design processors on older tech because wants more defects on the yield, low margin, and has no brain, no money and no advanced factories. Sure, it can not lower the production cost to $10-20 bucks like all others obviously do.
Lololololol. Congrats, you two made the most stupid comment of the year.
Xeons are likely to cost less than $1K. But production cost is nothing in this industry. R&D, demand, etc almost always drive the prices. Otherwise why are iPhones selling for $1K with a $25 chip?
Cause Samsung charged them $124 a piece for the OLED display and driver IC assembly for one. That is compared to ~$30 for the LCD displays used in the iPhone 9.
So? Even if your figure is correct, iPhone should have been selling for maybe $200 or $300. Companies have ZERO duty to ignore their R&D, facilities, and market demand and price at production cost.
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32 Comments
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DigitalFreak - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Too bad NVMe drives still have a price premium over SATA, but at least we're starting to get good performing drives without the ridiculous Samsung markup.bubblyboo - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
I mean I just got a 512GB 970 Pro for <$200 but sure Samsung has a "ridiculous markup".grahad - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
Sales don't really count. It's 229.99 on Amazon and Newegg at the moment.bubblyboo - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
That's still not much since it's just about the only consumer 3D MLC NVME drive.Hectandan - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
There are still few SSDs besides Samsung with consistent performance under heavy workload, and I don't know why one needs NVMe at all if not for some kind of workload.shabby - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Can you guys start separating tests based on ssd sizes? Seeing a 1tb ssd benched against one half its size or even a quarter somewhat isn't fair.Billy Tallis - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
The drives in this review that aren't 1TB are either representing controller+NAND combinations that I don't have a 1TB drive for, or are there to show how the same controller+NAND combination as the drive being reviewed scales with capacity.milkod2001 - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Would be nice if prices came down so this would be more popular and they would sell more. I mean 1TB m2 SSD under $100 would be nice. I doesn't cost them more than 20 bucks to make one anyway.mkaibear - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
What's your source on that bill of materials? It sounds distinctly fishy to meRickyBaby - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Bought this drive off an Ebay store for $230 - on sale + 15% coupon and got it Friday. Installed in an Asrock Z97 mobo with an adapter card - thanks to Asrock for adding the pcie boot option to the bios awhile back. Did a fresh install of Win10 ... didn't want to disk clone and bring forward all the crap. Haven't done much with it yet ... it does boot very fast ! Ran a few benchies. Crystal Diskmark shows a 2,900 read and 1,700 write score for the Q32TI Seq speed ... not bad for an aging system !DanNeely - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
The same ignorant rage about SSD costs that the clueless have been spouting for the last decade.0ldman79 - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
The numbers can all be skewed if you change how you measure them.How much does 1 gram of sand cost? A bit of PCB? Copper tracings?
Gotta ignore the labor, R&D, foundries, etc...
That's like the genius fixing the giant machine for $2,000. Itemized invoice, $2 for turning the screw, $1998 for knowing which screw to turn.
philehidiot - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
That's my job. It's easy but requires skills and knowledge.But they pay me bugger all.
Cliff34 - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
They don't want to drop the price more because it will eat into their margin.That's how the ssd market is. Your lowest is the sata. With nvmd, it is a higher price points (same spec).
Of course they can drop the price, but why would they do that when they can make more per unit knowing that many people who buy nvm often don't have a choice for sata.
ATC9001 - Wednesday, July 11, 2018 - link
Exactly....I mean who wouldn't want to get a lot more performance for the same price as a consumer? If they stopped charging premiums there wouldnt be any money left over for R&D for what comes after nvm. Also, if you can afford these large SSD's I really don;t wanna hear whining about the price....talk about a first world problem.MrSpadge - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
http://www.insye.com/DP/NANDFlashSpotPrice.aspxEven with 512 Gbit TLC chips (best price per capacity, slowest) the NAND alone will currently cost 9$/chip, i.e. 144$. And you need a bit more than that to build a SSD.
Samus - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
$20 bucks LOL. Controllers alone cost nearly that!FullmetalTitan - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
The memory controller alone probably wholesales for ~$12-18, so I don't know where you are getting those numbers.Death666Angel - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
"the flip side is that its pricing is noticeably lower than the flagships from more established SSD brands like Samsung and Western Digital." Unfortunately not true in Germany. :( Doesn't seem to be fully released here, 3 retailers offer it, but those 3 are large ones.Vanguarde - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
These will sell like hot cakes if they put the 1TB out for $39.99olderkid - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
When is the last time you bought a hot cake?SanX - Monday, July 9, 2018 - link
Who here remembers two decades ago history when DRAM prices dropped 5-6 times in a matter of few months and no one got bankrupt?Yes, the electronic industry is screwing people for decades. In the brain of salespeople the 10nm Apple A11 4.3 billion transistor chip can cost $25 but similar transistor count some Intel Xeon processor made even by ancient 20-30nm tech by their crazy logic can not cost less then $1000-2000
Adramtech - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
SanX, All these companies from 20 years ago are not in the game because there are not enough profits to go around....and there were many more from this time period that went out of business.Samsung
NEC
Hitachi
Hyundai
Toshiba
LG Semicon
TI
Micron
Mitsubishi
Fujitsu
Adramtech - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
Extra Credit: what companies from this 1990's list make DRAM today?Totally - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
I'll playSamsung
TI <- technically still does since it is partnered with Micron
Micron
Dr. Swag - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
Surprise surprise, cost/transistor went down from 20-30nm to 10nm, and also the xeon has a much bigger die size and so had lower yields.Totally - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
You're speaking words that one doesn't understand.SanX - Tuesday, July 10, 2018 - link
Rotfl rotflnao Swag and Totally. You made my day...how poor anandtech readers degraded so miserably.... Oh, yea, sure, Intel is that dumb company which makes potato chips. It also as a complimentary business makes retarded design processors on older tech because wants more defects on the yield, low margin, and has no brain, no money and no advanced factories. Sure, it can not lower the production cost to $10-20 bucks like all others obviously do.Lololololol. Congrats, you two made the most stupid comment of the year.
Hectandan - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
Xeons are likely to cost less than $1K.But production cost is nothing in this industry. R&D, demand, etc almost always drive the prices. Otherwise why are iPhones selling for $1K with a $25 chip?
FullmetalTitan - Thursday, July 12, 2018 - link
Cause Samsung charged them $124 a piece for the OLED display and driver IC assembly for one. That is compared to ~$30 for the LCD displays used in the iPhone 9.Hectandan - Friday, July 13, 2018 - link
So? Even if your figure is correct, iPhone should have been selling for maybe $200 or $300.Companies have ZERO duty to ignore their R&D, facilities, and market demand and price at production cost.
5080 - Sunday, November 25, 2018 - link
Amazing how the prices have tumbled. I just bought a 512GB one for $80 on Black Friday from Neweggs Ebay store. https://www.ebay.com/itm/382428249840